Bhagavad Gita 5.15 · Krishna
Knowledge under a veil
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः।
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः॥
nādatte kasyacitpāpaṃ na caiva sukṛtaṃ vibhuḥajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
The all-pervading takes on no one's wrongdoing, nor anyone's good deeds. Knowledge is veiled by ignorance, and so beings are confused.
Words
- jñāna
- pāpa
What it means
Krishna says the all-pervading reality doesn't collect anyone's papa, wrongdoing, or their good deeds. It isn't keeping a ledger. Our confusion comes from something else. Jnana, true knowledge, is covered by ignorance, like a sun behind clouds. That's why beings get lost.
The story
Arjuna's whole crisis came from a veil over his understanding. Krishna is gently pulling the clouds aside. The sun was always there. Arjuna just couldn't see it through his grief.
In your life
Think of someone who believed for years that they were unlovable, until a friend's kindness cleared the clouds. The truth was always there. Look for one belief about yourself that might be a cloud, not the sun.
The truth is veiled, never gone.